NAVY Ball

It's time for the NAVY ball!  This could possibly be our last one.  TJ only goes when he's forced to go and I'm not sure the next command will force him to!  We had a good dinner and good chats with our fellow dining partners.  I will miss not being here at Virginia Tech for this next year.

4th of July 2014!

After teaching all morning, I came home exhausted!  But, no rest for the weary - it was time to get ready for our BBQ.  We invited a couple of the luteniants over for swimming and dinner.  It was such a gorgeous day, nice and cool!  Everyone had fun in the pool.  Then we had a delicious BBQ.  The Jones' have a smoker and always bring the most delicious smoked meats - I want one really bad!  The Jones' have been here longer than us and are leaving in just a few weeks for Japan.  Jess, another wife and myself always got together Wednesday mornings for tea and talking.  Jess had Alexandria a couple months before I had Bristol, and it was fun to be pregnant together and have our little babies together.  Bristol is having her first little NAVY brat experience of having her first little friend leave - and she doesn't even know it!  We will really miss them.

 Bristol and Alexandria

 Adam, Jess & Alexandria

 The kids and Tj set up the tent and had a sleep out.  I opted to sleep inside in our bed since I was teaching BodyPump in the morning.

 We had a fire and 'smores before it got dark.

 After everyone left - and the kids were running around with friends somewhere else in the neighborhood - it was nice to just hang out with Tj at the fire.

And the sparklers!  Happy 4th of July!!  We had such a great holiday!

Shooting

Tj had Thursday off, so the lieutenants from the unit planned a shooting event.  The kids wanted to go too, so they headed off to the outdoor shooting range while I went and taught BodyCombat.  The kids have been shooting a few times before, but this time they got to throw some clay pigeons up and they had a blast!
Here is Brena with that big arm of hers (at least there's no windows nearby...)

 Gorgeous day!

Tyler throwing his.

Busch Gardens - Williamsburg!

We made our annual family trip to Busch Gardens over the weekend.  Anheuser Busch does a Waves of Honor program where they give every active duty military member and 3 of their dependents free tickets to a park of their choice.  We always choose Busch Gardens.  I think it is so nice that they do this for us, it is such a treat.  We have been going since 2008, I think.  The kids are STILL in school, but we pulled them out Thursday.  We are all roller coaster junkies, we can't get enough.  I LOVE that Brenalee is finally tall enough to go on every ride!  It's so much fun to sit on the rides with the kids and hold their hands and scream together.  Brena is more fearless than Tyler!  He's a little cautious at first, but not Brena.  The park opened at 10am and closed at 9pm.  We were there the entire time.  It wasn't too crowded, which was awesome because we NEVER had a line to wait in!  I couldn't believe it!  Every time we went in Florida, no matter what month, it was crowded.  We were going to take turns with Bristol staying in Sesame Street, but we decided she won't ever remember this time, the older kids will.  So, we all stayed together and just took turns between TJ and I staying out with her.  She was in her stroller most of the day, but she did pretty well.  We had such a blast, can't wait until next year!

 This fits Brena SO well...her room - ahhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!

 First ride of the day - the kids and Tj are up there somewhere!

We did have a moment of parent guilt and took Bristol on this one ride.  That was enough!  The wait was forever and the ride was lame!  And, she didn't even act like she loved it, so why bother?!

 Ah, Mach Tower...you scared Tyler and I last year - but not this year!  I think Tyler went on it 20 times.

 Yup - all the way up there, with a straight drop down.

Until next year Busch Gardens!

Commissioning Reception and Commissioning

Today was the big day - commissioning!  Tj has been so busy planning it since he was in charge of it this year.  I haven't gone to a commissioning ceremony since we've been here.  It just hasn't ever really worked out.  I got lucky and went this year.  It exciting to see all the graduates and their families.  You could feel the excitement in the air.  What a fun time of year!

This was at the reception during the day.

 Then at the joint commissioning with the Corps of Cadets that night.  This is all of the cadets...NAVY, ARMY, Air Force and Marines.

 Being sworn in by Rear Admiral Kevin Quinn

Unfortunately, I forgot the camera and just had my cell phone.  It didn't take very good pictures.  Next year I'll be better prepared!

This also took me back to December 2006, when Tj was commissioned back in San Diego.  It seems so long ago!

 It's times like this that I love the NAVY, feel that NAVY pride and enjoy this crazy life of ours!

Virginia Tech NAVY ROTC Thanksgiving Feast

It's tradition to celebrate Thanksgiving at the ROTC unit at Virginia Tech.  Last year it was a joint service dinner - meaning the Air Force, ARMY and us were together - it was pretty big.  I guess this year the other services wanted to do their own thing, so it was just the NAVY this year.  The kids Brenalee was dying to go, so I went and picked them up from school.  We had a nice chat with everyone and good food.

The food table!

 Brena loves ham!

 It's nice to have a babysitter :)

 A gun below Tom & Jerry - yep, we're in the military section now!

 My silly baby girl!  Love her craziness!

So thankful for this crazy military life we have!

Veteran's Day Assembly

The kids' school had a Veteran's Day Assembly today.  Tyler & Brenalee were invited to give a little talk about their dad and his career in the NAVY.  They stood up on the stage and spoke to a gym full of their peers and adults.  There was a pretty good group of veterans there that were honored.  The VT Core of Cadets came and presented the flag.  We had a couple talks and a few of the kids then spoke about their guests.  It was very touching and I was brought to tears a couple times.  What a wonderful country we live in!

Waiting for the program to start!

 Daddy and Brenalee

 A star to remember those who gave their lives for our country.  A paper came home asking for names, and I sent it back with Landon's name.

 Thank you veterans - thank you!